1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a composite turbine blade, particularly a hollow fibered turbine blade.
2. The Prior Art
Prior Art non-metallic composite turbine blades are, in general, of the un-cooled solid type. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,271 to Bailey et al (1991). The high thermal conductivities of this class of materials requires complicated solutions to heat transferred from the flow path around the blade into the supporting blade rotor and disc structure. These design solutions are complex and add additional weight to the blade and supporting disc structure.
Although such solid non-metallic composite turbine blades are lightweight compared to current metallic blade designs, more coolable, lighter-in-weight blades are desirable to overcome the above prior art shortcomings.
There has now been discovered a composite turbine blade that is lighter in weight and more readily cooled than previously available in the prior art.